On the exceptional western coastline of O‘ahu, a landmark 17-storey terraced hotel is re-emerging as the new Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina. Adjacent to the Lanikuhonua (“where heaven meets earth”) Cultural Estate and nature preserve, the newest Four Seasons in Hawaii is located on the ocean in the resort community of Ko Olina, meaning “place of joy.” Enveloped in the warm embrace of Hawaiian-style hospitality and signature Four Seasons service, the kama’aina-style open air public spaces and generous light-filled rooms and suites will mirror the easy elegance of the Four Seasons resort lifestyle...

Hotel Wailea, a luxurious getaway recently refreshed by Philpotts Interiors, was named by Architectural Digest as one of the "5 Best Designed Hotels on Maui."

"Spread across 15 acres high above the Pacific, the Hotel Wailea is a totally different Maui resort experience. As an adults-only property, it's ideal for honeymooners, groups of friends, or couples looking for quiet serenity and the fact that it’s not directly on the beach may at first sound like a negative, but in actuality, it only adds to the sense of calm, removed as it is from the throngs of tourists who want to hit the water all day. An entire day can easily be spent by the swimming pool, which was completely redone (along with the rest of the hotel, including its 72 one-bedroom suites) in 2014 with huge modern cabanas."

Luxury meets location in Honolulu’s newest premium condominium development, Park Lane Ala Moana. Taking full advantage of ocean views, offering resort-like services and amenities with the privacy and security of an estate home, Park Lane balances a sense of community with the tranquility of a tropical retreat. Boasting over 200 ultra-luxury residences, Park Lane’s newest unveiling of its 5,668-square-foot grand penthouse proves that this property is unlike any other residential condominium in Hawaii.

San Francisco-based interior design firm ODADA and Hawaii’s Philpotts and Associates combined their sense of luxury with their knowledge of what luxury buyers want, to create this high-end residential property. David Oldroyd, principal designer and president of ODADA, designed Park Lane to bring the nature of the Hawaiian lifestyle to luxury living. “Park Lane is meant to feel like a collection of homes, rather than a condo,” says Oldroyd. “The goal was to create something that would capture what is wonderful about private living.”

Unfolding breathtaking views of the ocean below, this four bedroom and four and a half bathroom penthouse just barely glazes over the tops of palm trees at six stories tall. The Hale Mahina penthouse (Hawaiian for “House of the Moon”), features the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that Hawaii is known for. Entering the penthouse through a private elevator, you are instantly surrounded by 270-degree views of glass, ocean, and volcanos.

For a San Francisco native raised in the chilly, foggy Avenues, something close to heaven appeared decades ago off the bow of the SS Lurline, a posh Matson line steamer on the San Francisco-to-Honolulu run.

Hawaii - sunny with beaches of white sand lapped by water so welcoming a boy could swim year-round. Both grandmothers might be San Francisco natives, but Hawaii was his special place, a revelation where warmth caressed his soul.

Thus began a lifelong love affair with the islands. Throughout marriage and a move to sunny, warm Marin County to raise three daughters, the visits to Hawaii continued. Hawaii was not only his place; it was their place, the place outside the Bay Area.

And as retirement approached, the stars aligned when the couple spotted an advertisement for oceanfront property on Lanai in the Wall Street Journal. "We'd been there, and we'd seen it," said the boy's wife, a Larkspur native, who, like her husband, prefers to remain anonymous to protect the family's privacy. "We knew it was hard to find property on the water, so we thought we'll go and see what they had."

The let's-check-it-out trip turned into a let's-write-a-check moment as the Pacific Ocean provided a sparkling backdrop for views of Kahoolawe and the Big Island.

That was 1997. Today, the kid describes himself and his wife as "grandparent-type people," and the couple's second home on Lanai epitomizes the easy, unforced fusion of indoor and outdoor, Eastern and Western sensibilities that are the hallmark of Hawaiian style.